TheSynonymyofBalanceandMotion

ByDougGray,FAFS Balance must be studied and, more importantly, trained in motion. Traditionally, balance has been studied and trained in stillness. Albert Einstein once said, Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. It is important to note that life is made up of the physical,themental,andthespiritual.Whilethisarticleisgearedprimarilytowardthephysical, theprincipleofbalanceisappliedtoallaspectsoflife,asEinsteinalludedtoabove. PaulBoesecommentedonthistopicbystating,Wecomeintothisworldheadfirstandgoout feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance. Balance in life seems to be a state that is strived for throughout ones time on earth. It is no wonder that in the physical, balance is importanttoonewhoistryingtomoveatayoungage,toonetryingtocontinuetomoveatan old age, and every age in between. What is even more important is the reality that balance trainingseemstobeaforgottenareaoffocusfortotalfitness.Fitnessiscomprisedofflexibility, strength, and cardiovascular endurance; balance dramatically enhances each and every aspect. Therefore, balance training needs to be incorporated into all types of training injury prevention,rehabilitation,andperformanceenhancement. Traditionally,balanceisdefinedasastateinwhichabodyorobjectremainsreasonablysteady in a particular position while resting on a base that is narrow or small relative to its other dimensions (Encarta Dictionary). Practically, balance is a want, as well as a need, relating toourbody.Nomatterthefunction,task,activity,orsport, balanceisamuchneededelement the body wants and needs to be successful. As mentioned above, balance must be studied and trained in motion. Functionally, the definition of balance can be enhanced by stating the following: balance is successfully displacing ones center of gravity for the purpose of returning backtowhereonestartedortotransferintoanotherdirection.Walkingisaperfectexampleof this enhanced definition, as this everyday activity is really controlled falling. Ones center of gravity is constantly being changed (between one foot and the other and everywhere in between)inordertostayuprightandmoveacrosstheground. Balance training is foundational to all forms of exercise. Exercises can be grouped according to the following: foundational, enhancement, and skilling. Simply characterized, foundational exercises are what the body can execute on its own without equipment; enhancement exercises build from foundational exercises by adding equipment to the movements; and skilling exercises are more refined in that they drive a specific purpose (such as an activity or sport). Balance training, while it is involved in all three categories, tends to be neglected. A prime example is in youth training many children are funneled into skilling exercises prior to

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mastering foundational and enhancement exercises. Take soccer for example children are asked to kick a ball in a certain direction for a certain purpose before they can successfully balanceononeleganddrivetheiroppositesidefootinallthreeplanesofmotion. Balance Escalation, which is part of the Gray Institutes 3D Matrix Performance Series, is a workout designed to expand the threshold of ones functional abilities to strategically, three dimensionally, and sequentially improve balance. Moreover, it is a workout designed to allow one to better own his / her threedimensional space. The workout itself is hugely empowering, as it can be easily tweaked up (made more challenging) and easily tweaked down (made less challenging)tomeetonewherehe/sheissuccessful. Escalation is another word for growth and intensification. For one to add intensity to his / her fitness, balance training is paramount in this facilitation. This, in turn, allows for the expansion, thegrowth,ofhis/herfunctionalthreshold.Thisisthenameofthegameoftraining. The overall, guiding logic of Balance Escalation is to load the entire hip threedimensionally with authentic motion as the body is oriented in a balancing position and / or transformation zone. The entire hip can be simply divided into two components: the back hip (glutes) and the fronthip(hipflexors).Thissectionofthebodyisalsoknownasthepowersourceofthebody. If the power of the body is turned on, then it is much more advantageous to maintain balance whilefacilitatingmotion.Toturn(load)thebackhip,therelativemotionsofflexion,adduction, and internal rotation must be eccentrically lengthened. To turn on (load) the front hip, the relative motions of extension, abduction, and external rotation must be eccentrically lengthened. TheauthenticmovementobjectivesofBalanceEscalation,inparticular,areasfollows: Leveragefootreaches,handreaches,andacombinationoffootandhandreachesfrom asinglelegbalancestance; Apply foot swings, hand swings, and a combination of foot and hand swings from a singlelegbalancestance; Incorporate single leg balance lunges, lunges with balance, and a combination of single legbalancelungeswithbalance; Builduponseriesofabovelungeswithhandswings;and Finishwithhoppingjacks*. Balance enhances control and stability. The facilitator in this process is motion. Gary Gray is quoted as saying that balance training is turning on your switch a little faster in all three planes. Motion (or movement) turns on prioprioceptors (the electricity of the body), proprioceptors turn on muscles, and muscles allow for amplified balance. Thus, it is important to constantly tweak ones balance training in a variety of manners to better own ones three dimensionalspace.This,ofcourse,needstobedoneauthentically,aswellassubtly,safely,and

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sequentially. Balance Escalation is a workout that provides a foundation a framework in whichtoaccomplishthis. * Jumping Jacks are defined as two feet to two feet jumps with bilateral hand swings; Jumping Jack is defined as two feet to two feet jumps with unilateral hand swings; Jopping Jacks are defined as two feet to one foot jops with bilateral hand swings; Jopping Jack is definedastwofeettoonefootjopswithunilateralhandswings;HoppingJacksaredefinedas one foot to same one foot hops with bilateral hand swings; Hopping Jack is defined as one foottosameonefoothopswithunilateralhandswings. The Gray Institute is internationally acclaimed for its innovation, development, mastery, and delivery of Applied Functional Science and is recruited to consult, analyze, assess, rehabilitate, restore, train, and condition individuals of all levels and abilities, including professional sports. The Gray Institute is the foremost leader of functional prevention, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement in the industry. For more information, please go to www.GrayInstitute.com.

2010GrayInstituteAllRightsReserved